Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Editor's Picks
Editor's PicksSportsVideo

Shaq Bashes Dwight Howard Over Laker Departure

By | Published on July 7, 2013 | Updated on March 25, 2016 7:52 PM EDT
CommentsComments (1) Add as a preferred source on Google i

Dwight Howard decided to leave the big lights in Los Angeles for a relatively smaller town of Houston on Friday. Some observers felt the NBA star made the best choice, but others believe Howard’s child-like nature accounted for why he chose to leave the high-pressure LA environment.

Shaquille O’Neal, who is one of the best centers who ever played in the NBA, recently weighed in on Howard’s decision.

“It was expected,” Shaq said.

The retired star, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 to 2004 continued: “We’ve all been in LA, and not a whole lot of people can handle being under the bright lights. Everybody wants to do it, but when you get there, there are certain pressures. I think it was a safe move for him to go to a little town like Houston. That’s right, little town. I said it.”

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top